Back to McKinsey Themes

How to be a better business builder

Business building is quickly rising as a top strategic priority on the corporate agenda. That's because it's proven to generate tremendous revenues and quickly react to shifting customers and markets. And the more companies do it, the better they get at it. But only a small segment of companies see that payoff. So how can your organization beat the odds? Explore our most recent analyses, insights into what works (and what doesn't), and lessons learned from serial business builders, including:

  • what capabilities actually make a difference
  • what it takes to launch and scale new businesses
  • how one incumbent implemented a large-scare digital program to attract new customers
  • how to build a scalable digital business inside of an established company

Five Fifty: The business builders

How Telkomsel transformed to reach digital-first consumers

A digital-business builder: An interview with the CEO of Allianz Direct

Four myths about building a software business

Scaling up ‘rock-star fast’: A conversation with foodpanda’s Jakob Angele

Lending corporate business builders a helping hand: A conversation with New Ventures’ Alvin Cai

SaaS, open source, and serverless: A winning combination to build and scale new businesses

Inventing and scaling the world’s largest urban vertical farming network

Scale or fail: How incumbents can industrialize new-business building

CEO brief: The future of business building in insurance

Why business building is the new priority for growth

How to launch a new business: Three approaches that work